Hoyer says Trump or Cruz as GOP nominee gives Dems chance for House majority

Hoyer says Trump or Cruz as GOP nominee gives Dems chance for House majority

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By Rebecca Rainey

Capital News Service

Steny Hoyer vertical by Center for American Progress Action Fund with Flickr

Steny Hoyer. Photo by the Center for American Progress Action Fund with Flickr Creative Commons License

U.S. House of Representatives Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Monday that either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz at the head of the GOP ticket could produce a Democratic majority in the House.

Hoyer, the second-most powerful Democrat in the House, said at a press roundtable with college reporters that a Trump or Cruz nomination would be so polarizing that it would harm Republicans seeking re-election to the House.

A Maryland GOP official scoffed at the prediction.

Hoyer said that there would be significant seat pick-ups across the country, including two in Florida, one in Virginia, one in North Carolina, depending on redistricting there, one or two New York, a few seats in Iowa, one in Colorado, one or two in Michigan and one in Montana.

A steep hill for Dems

“The Republicans took over a lot of statehouses in 2010, (and) as a result they had the governance of the House and the Senate,” Hoyer said. “There was partisan gerrymandering and as a result we have a steep hill to climb.”

“But, having said that, if either Trump or Cruz are the nominees, I think we have a very substantially enhanced opportunity to win the majority of the House,” he said.

That would require the Democrats to win a net of 30 seats, the lawmaker acknowledged.

The Republicans currently hold 247 House seats to the Democrats’ 188. For either party, a majority requires control of 218 seats.

“But we have won 30 seats in the past and Republicans have won 30 seats in the past, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer added that a Trump ticket in particular could generate even more gains for the Democratic Party.

He noted that Michael Gerson, a Republican columnist for the Washington Post, wrote earlier this month that Trump as the GOP nominee would destroy the party.

“Now (Gerson is) a Republican. If he’s correct, we could have a big victory and win more than the 30 seats that we need,” Hoyer said.

High turnout helps GOP

In response, Joe Cluster, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party said “the congressman is not living in reality in this primary.”

“I don’t think he is watching the turnout on the Republican side,” Cluster said. “I’m not sure how he is coming to that determination, but our turnout is up 60 to 70 percent in every state.”

He added: “There’s a mood nationally against the Democrats and we wouldn’t be seeing the turnout if there wasn’t.”

According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, 18 Republican and four Democratic House seats are labelled as “toss ups.”

About The Author

Capital News Service

aflynn1@umd.edu

Capital News Service is a student-powered news organization run by the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. With bureaus in Annapolis and Washington run by professional journalists with decades of experience, they deliver news in multiple formats via partner news organizations and a destination Website.

2 Comments

  1. heretheycomeagain

    Regardless of the fact that Hoyer is a Yellow-Dog Democrat of the first order, it’s great to read where he cares enough about the Republican party that he’s willing to step up and offer his advice on who their nominee should be. That is what he’s doing, right?

    But seriously, Hoyer is no political fool and he is well aware that this coming November could be a disaster for the Democrat party. He say that if either one were nominated it could result in a Democrat takeover in the House, but interestingly enough, he suggests that it would be even greater if Trump were the nominee.

    Hmmm.Is there any doubt that Hoyer sees quite clearly that, not only will Trump be a much stronger opponent than Cruz (since the Trumpsters will stay home if he’s the nominee), a Trump candidacy would almost certainly produce a wave election that would be reminiscent of the Nixon over McGovern landslide of 1972 where McGovern won only Mass and DC.

    Hoyer, not surprisingly, has joined with the secular media, the establishment and the money brokers to proclaim how terrible Trump would be if elected––and he’s right––for all of them.

  2. joe

    You think Burger King sells Whoppers, Steny (second banana) sells really big Democratic whoppers!

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